WCA waiting times

Does anyone have any anecdotal evidence that the 13 weeks or so of assessment phase you used to be able to rely on before a client was sent an ESA50 and called for a WCA has decreased dramatically recently? I recently advised a client who had previously been advised by a colleague to claim new style ESA on 16/5/19 on the basis that it “would give her a breathing space” while she decided what to do benefits-wise in the longer term after taking a severance package from work to allow her to care for her husband; she was called for an assessment on 2/7! I was so surprised by this that I thought I’d try to find out if it’s just a one-off anomaly, or if it’s widespread.

I’ve got a client who claimed new style ESA on 20 August seeking backdating to mid May who received an ESA50 form today, 20 Sept. They haven’t received an assessment rate payment yet.

CDHA are very efficient at sending out the UC50/ESA50. So efficient in fact that I wonder if these go out when the claim is initially processed.

However, the waiting time between returning the UC/ESA50 and getting an assessment date appears to be growing ever longer.